In the world of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the Chevrolet Volt has been the most high-profile entry aimed at consumers. However, the biggest problem for GM when it comes to the current Volt is that the vehicle isn't profitable.

"This car, on a technology scale, is off the charts vs. what you [have] seen," said GM CEO Dan Akerson, who owns one personally. "We've sold about 26,500 of them [and] we're losing money on every one."

Akerson says that the loss GM takes on every Volt that it sales will soon come to an end. The automaker has significant improvement planned for the second-generation vehicle, including making it lighter. Less weight means that the electric driving range can be made extended without adding larger battery packs -- the battery pack on the current generation Volt battery weighs 400 pounds alone.

According to Akerson, GM believes that the cost to build the Volt can be reduced in the range of $7,000 to $10,000 on the second-generation model. That doesn't necessarily mean buyers will see a discount, but it will mean GM doesn't take a loss on each vehicle it sells.

We purchased a 2012 Volt last year. Not a long time user/owner yet but here are my thoughts.

For me it wasn't about whether Prius, Leaf, or Volt was a better car. I wanted a car that uses a lot less gas/oil and yet not have range anxiety. The Volt nails this head on!

The Volt uses pure electric propulsion that draws on the battery for 30~40 miles. If I need to go further, a range extender (currently a ICE) takes over to generate electricity for propulsion. Since most of our driving is less than 40 miles, we're able to use a lot less gas. And since it also has a range extender on board, we don't need another car for the longer drives/trips.

Neither the Prius nor Leaf (great cars in their own right) gave us this mix of options.